Post-base trimmer



April 10, 1928. 1,665,726

H. o. ALLISON POST BASE TRIMMER Filed June 5, 1925 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 10, 1928. 1,665,726

-H. o. ALLISON .POST BASE TRIMMER Filed June 5, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

HARRIET ALLISON, 01* H O NORTH enemas.

oss-Basia TRIMMER.

Application filed June 3,

My invention relates to a device for finishing the surface of concrete and more especially to a device for imparting a smooth surface to the upper portion of a concrete base in which posts are adapted to be set. Heretofore when setting posts made of steel and other materials in bases made of concrete, it has been necessary to use an ordinary trowel to give a smooth surface .to the upper port-ion of the said base, shaping it into a cone with the post located in the center or at the apex of the cone. In this way it was almost impossible to give a smooth conical effect to the upper portion of the base, but .my device as hereinafter set forth, is adapted to be used to give thiscorrect shape to the concrete base.

An object of my invention is to provide a device for trimming and shaping post bases which can be adapted to fit any'kind of posts, and also be adjusted to give any desired slope to the concrete base.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for trimming the upper surface of concrete bases for posts and the like, and also to trim the sides of the base, forming the side portion into a circle with thepost as the center of said circle.

Having thus stated some of the objects of my invention, a brief description of the drawings will now follow in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my, device;

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section and taken along the line 2.-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailv view of theadjusting means;

Figure l is an enlarged detail view of the means for adjusting the circumference of my device and being taken along the line l4c in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of my de- VICE.

Having thus described the various figures in the drawings, a detailed description of the same will follow in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

The numeral indicates the funnelshaped piece of metal or other resilient material, which has a hole 11 in its center and a cut from its center to its periphery, and has ends 12 and 13 which overlap each other. The end 13 has an upturned portion 14 which serves as one of the handles for operating 1926. Serial No. 113,482.

the device. An upturned strip 15 is secured to the opposite side of the upper surface of the member 10, which serves as the other handle for operating the device. The end portion 12 has a'rotatable flat pin 16 secured thereto which projects upwardly through the slot v17 in the end 13. This slot has notches 18 inits'upper edge which serve to receive the projection 19 on the pin :16 for purposes of adjustment. This pinand slot arrangement is used to vary the circumference o-f'the device and also at the same time to regulate the size of the hole 11 in the center .of the device. V

The end 12 has an upturned portion 20 which serves to receive the lower edge of the end 113 to hold the same flat against the upper surface of the end 12. The pin 16 also has a projection 21 thereon-which fits over a portion of the upper surface of the end portion 13 to hold the same against the end pQr-s tion 12.

Around the periphery of the member 10 I secure blades22 which serve to smooth the vertical portionof the concrete base giving a circularsurface to the vertical portion with the post as the center of this'circle.

IV hen the post around which the concrete base is to be formed is smaller than the hole 11, then a filler member 25 may be inserted in the hole 11, said filler member being split and hinged, with a latch for securing the same around thepost. The lower portion of th s fi ler member flares o wa d y at i s bottom and the upper politiollof this flare fits against the lower surface'ofthe member 10 in close proximity to the hole 11. The hinge for this filler member is designated by the numeral 27 while the latch is designated by the numeral 28. projections 29 on the upper portion of the flange portion which fit into holes in the member 10 and cause the filler member to rotale with the member 10. These filler members may be made to fit any size or shape of posts, such as angle iron, U-bar, or any shape with which one may be called on to form a concrete base around the same.

I desire to state that, although I have shown the strips 22 as covering only a portion of the perimeter of the funnel-shaped member, it is understood that I may make these strips broader up to the extent of extending all the way around the perimeter of the funnel-shaped member.

The filler member has The method of operation of my device is as follows:

The key 16 is turned in the position shown in the dotted lines in Figure 1 and the end 13 is lifted over this pin, and the ends 12 and 13 are pulled apart and .slipped around the post after the concrete has been poured around the base of the post. The end 13 is then lapped over the end 12 and the key 16 is passed thru the slot 17 and secured in one of-the notches 18. When the device is thus secured, the filler having been first secured around the post if it is desired to use the filler, the handles are gripped by the operator and the device is rotated about ninety to one hundred and eighty degrees back and forth and the upper portion of the concrete base will become of the same shape as theadjusted device, and at the same time the blades 22 will trim the vertical portion of the base.

I desire it to be understood that my device is complete and may be used without the filler member, the filler member being used only when it is desired to give a low slope to the upper surface of the concrete base,

and when thepost is not large enough to fill the hole 11 in my'device.

It will thus be seen that I have devised means for finishing the surface of concrete bases for posts, which means may be used after the fence has been stretched on the posts, and I desire it to be understood that although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

Claims:

1. In a device for-forming the upper surface on a concrete base for posts and the like, a funnel-shaped member having a hole in its center adapted to receive a post, handle members secured to the funnel-shaped member for reciprocating the same around the post as a center.

2. A device for forming a surface to bases for posts and the like comprising a funnelshaped member having a hole in its center and being adapted to fit around the post and against the concrete and having means for-engaging the member to produce rotation about the post to impart a smooth surfaceto the concrete placed around the base of the post.

3. A device for imparting a smooth surface to a concrete base for posts comprising a funnel-shaped member having a hole at its apex and being adapted to be placed around the post and pressed against the concrete while being rotated about the post and means for engaging the member to produce rotation.

4. In a concrete smoothing device a hollow conical member having a hole at its center, handle members attached to the conical member, and means for adjusting the size of the said hole. 7 v

5. A funnel-shaped member having a hole in the center, handles secured to the outer surface of the funnel shaped member, and means associated with the funnel-shaped member for adjusting the size of the .said hole and also for adjusting the perimeter of the funnel-shaped member, said means comprising a pin mounted in one portion of the funnel-shaped member and engaging a slot in another portion of the funnel-shaped member.

6. In a post base trimmer, a funnel-shaped member made of sheet material, with the ends of the sheet material overlapping each other, a hole in the apex of the funnelshaped member adapted to receive a post, a slot in the outer overlapping portion, a rotatable pin secured in the inner overlapping end andadapted to slide in the slot for adjusting both the hole in the center and the circumference of the funnel-shaped member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRIET O. ALLISON. 

